Paths of the Dead
A Path of the Dead is a term that refers to a path between the earthly plane and the Hellish dimensions, that is between Earth and Hell. Unlike dead entities, living beings can enter and exit Hell at will by using these paths. There are seven paths that crosses dimensions. History Before the Roman crisis Before the Roman war occured, these paths used to be open and entities living in Hell, unless they were dead, could cross them to join the eartly planes. Being sealed During his cycle in Rome, Cassius (Michael) was Emperor Caligula's closest adviser, and when he learnt one of those path was located in Lutetia, he convinced the Emperor to let him forge a gate to keep the demons at bay. But Caligula uncovered his true identity : he was Lucifer, the fallen Dark Prince ; and stole the key, only to unleash Abomination upon Earth. But, thanks to Agrippina (Azrael) and Valerius (Abbadon), Cassius was able to defeat Caligula and send him into the fires of Hell by the point of his golden sword, forever locking him behind the gate. After the War in Rome, Cassius asked for one members of each family from the Conclave at the time to locate the six remaining paths and to build gates over there to secure the divison between the worlds. These members became the guardians of the Gates of Hell were known as the Order of the Seven, and they all scattered to secure more the Gates. The Van Alen Legacy However, Lawrence Van Alen (Metatron), one of the guardians, noticed how strong and numerous the Silver Bloods remained over centuries, and he quickly suspected that the Gates were failing at their task. Doing several researchs over his lifetimes, he came to gather some clues over the locations of the Gates, but not much. When he died at the hands of the Leviathan, he told Schuyler it was now her task to warn the guardians and secure the Gates ; the Van Alen Legacy, the duty of her family, must prevail and save the world from a third Great War. Paths Rio de Janeiro The path to Hell located in Rio de Janeiro was sealed with the Gate of Vengeance, the Leviathan's own prison, located on top of Corcovado. Its gatekeeper was Metatron. Nowadays, the gate was opened and the Leviathan freed by Lawrence Van Alen's murder of an innocent. But the gate was a solom bicallis, a gate which can only serve for one person so, once the Leviathan was freed, the path closed itself again. New York The path of the Dead was once located in the underground city of Lutetia (present-day Paris) and it was by this path that Michael imprisoned Lucifer behind the Gate of Time. Assuming its gatekeeper was Michael, Lucifer and his brother tried to kill him underneath Paris. But the subvertio they released trying to kill the Archangel caused a time vacuum which imprisoned both Michael and the Leviathan in Hell. Though the Dark Prince soon discovered where the Gate was truly hidden, he failed to free himself. In fact, the gatekeeper was Kingsley Martin (Araquiel), a reformed Silver Blood, who moved the path to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Cairo The path of the Dead located in Cairo was among the ones that were the best hidden. Indeed, Theodora failed twice to find it, searching first in Florence and then in Alexandria. This path was in fact sealed behind the Gate of Promise, below the Gizeh Pyramides and was kept by Catherine de Sienna. Others Following Lawrence and Schuyler's notes, several locations were listed as possible places where the last four gates could stand. Those were : Oslo, Reykjavic, Athens, Shangaï and an unknown location in Eastern Europe, likely Romania. Other locations were disproved in their investigations : Florence, Barcelona and Alexandria.As witnessed in Keys to the Repository. Notes *In the Beauchamp Family series, Joanna Beauchamp (Skadi) is a Goddess of Life and Creation, sister to the Goddess of Death, Helda, who rules the lower-regions of the world : Hell. It is confirmed when Mimi travels to Hell to free Kingsley and meet Helda. References Category:Locations